War in Ancient India c10.6

c10.6

Turning to Vedic literature, in one of the *Brāhmaṇas* occurs the concept of a ship that sails heavenwards. The ship is the Agnihotra of which the Āhavanīya and Gārhapatya fires represent the two sides bound heavenward, and the steersman is the Agnihotrin who offers milk to the three Agnis.² Again in the still earlier *Ṛg Veda Saṃhitā* we read that the Aśvins conveyed the rescued Bhūjya safely by means of winged ships.³ The latter may refer to the aerial navigation in the earliest times.